Friday night will be a homecoming of sorts for Blacksburg head coach Mickey Moss as he leads his alma mater on to the field for the first time in the first annual Iron City Jamboree.

The game will serve as the first and only tune-up for the Wildcats, who open their 2008 campaign Aug. 22 with Walhalla.

"I sure wish we could have had the luxury of that extra week," Moss said. "But we're going to put our best team out there."

Knowing the team would have few scrimmages in game-type conditions, the coach scheduled scrimmages against some of the state's better teams.

As with all tune-ups, the squad sputtered a bit getting out of the gate. "We made mistakes, but a lot of progress was made," Moss said. "It's like that with scrimmages though. There will be times that things go well, and others that you're not pleased."

But several players caught the eye of coaches, including wide receiver Chris Hames.

"(Hames) did well during practice and kept things going in our scrimmages," Moss said. "He has been a steady and consistent receiver for us."

However, the jamboree will serve as the first time coaches have not called plays from the huddle. Play is also dictated by game and play clocks, something that Moss is sure will take players a little time to get adjusted to.

"We don't expect things to go perfectly with them going out there by themselves for the first time," Moss said. "There will always be problems. But it helps us find things that we might want to work on and get ideas of others we do well."

Getting used to a new coaching staff has proved to be a breeze according to Moss, with coaches meshing together just as they hope the Wildcats will do this season.

"I really get a long with all the coaches and welcome their input," Moss said. "We have a family atmosphere here." IRON CITY FOOTBALL JAMBOREE BLACKSBURG HIGH SCHOOL Christ Church vs. Bessemer City Broome vs. Chester Blacksburg vs. Cherryville